Thankful for Salvation

Is like a toddler really helping a toddler walking the parents get behind them and they hold their hands in the health of law and everybody on the other side is tearing us in keep coming but you know and I know if the parent were to let go of those hands will fall to see in the same way you and I walk the Christian life.

You're saved is because God is walking behind you, he is strengthening you and he is proving himself.

When we take that credit when we settled all of this and I was dad and I went to the right. Charge arrived into the right Bible study or I had the right mentors you see what you're doing at that moment is he taking credit away from Christ you just heard a portion of the upcoming message titled, thankful for salvation, pastor of a gunshot church Anderson North Carolina Clearview focus is on making Christ is from the worship service to the way we love one another. Come check us out. 3485 Oxford Rd. visit us online@clearviewdc.org join us for the rest of this week's message in a serious car thankful and it is to prepare us for the holiday season. As I mentioned a few moments ago. It is important for us to have the right perspective and is the final message titled, thankful for salvation. What I have discovered is that the more we grow in the Christian life, the more grateful we become for salvation. In other words, the more you understand the love of God, the grace of God, the more we understand what he did on the cross for us.

The more amazed we are and why God would save someone like us.

I can tell you from my personal life. Early on I used to think men God really lucked out in saving me because I want to do great things for his kingdom. The longer I've been saved. I wonder why in the world would he save me.

Why would he agree to my plea for salvation in this morning. I pray that when this message is over your hearts would be filled with gratefulness.

You'd be thankful for what Christ has done for you and not just this week or this season, but throughout your life you would come back to your salvation again and again every day thanking God for saving you thanking God for rescuing you to meet someone, someone who never got over his salvation. In fact, was the end of his life. He was even more grateful that he was in the beginning of his life and I'm talking about the apostle Paul. You have your Bibles with you turn to first Timothy chapter 1 starting in verse 12. In a saucepan together for the reading of God's word. Paul is talking to his son in the ministry his son in in his mentor ship.

He says I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer or a persecutor and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance and I want us to turn attention to the screen and say it with me, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief this morning. How thankful are you for your salvation. I'll tell you this morning close. It is not automatic. For some people to never get over the salvation for the rest of us. We have to be prodded and reminded to be grateful for our salvation.

How grateful are you how do you see yourself in comparison to others in your family who are saved to others in the body of Christ do you say that Paul I am the chief of sinners, or you always come out looking better than the other person. Paul, the one who wrote Romans and Corinthians in Galatians and rest of the epistles says I am the first in line who doesn't deserve the grace of God. He got it. Do you get in.

Are you saved this morning and I saved. I pray that as we go to this message, the Holy Spirit, open your hearts as Paul said I did it ignorantly in unbelief. I pray that none of you would deliberately reject the gospel. If there is one word that is constantly found in Paul's letters. It's the word Congress if you grew up in church, been through Bible study Sunday school you know the work. Horace means grace of Paul constantly used it in his letters, he used it as he opened was letters. He used it at him as he closed his letters of your member and most of those letters, he begins with grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He begins with grace when he closes his letter, he would say the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. What is the word grace me but it's more than just a polite, greeting word. Congress is more than just hey how are you is much more than that for Paul. The word was a reference to the saving act of God in Christ Jesus that were grace, Congress represented God coming down through his son Jesus Christ to save him who was undeserving repeatedly to use those words.

In fact, when we say the word Eucharist was awarded Eucharist means. It means giving tax you Congress, giving thanks.

That's what Paul constantly use that word Congress but also had the meaning of thankfulness.

Paul used it often to express thankfulness to God for his salvation. In today's message were going to learn from Paul how to be thankful for our salvation, what it takes to be constantly living in the solo gratefulness for salvation. This is a message for me because often I lose track I lose sight of the main thing and end people or situations or problems or needs take me away from where I need to be and I need to be grateful constantly, every single moment, grateful for God for saving me through Jesus Christ. How did Paul do that three things very quickly. You have to acknowledge your weakness before God.

Listen again to verse 12 Paul says I thank Christ Jesus that you see that's the reason I chose the passage. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me that word means strengthened me almost thanking God for giving him the strength but also continually strengthening him. Now there is a mistranslation here some of your Bible say because he counted me faithful. That word for because should actually be that he counted me faithful. What Paul is saying here is this. I'm grateful to God because he has given me strength and that he counted me faithful. Paul hasn't proven that he was faithful, and then got settled. Paul, you're such a faithful person, so I'm going to give you strength is just the opposite.

God enabled him and counted him faithful, even before he was faithful and the word actually is trustworthy. The folks if you want somebody to be trustworthy. You need a track record for them.

Policy God is so good and I'm so grateful to Jesus Christ because he strengthened me before I had a track record of faithfulness, trustworthiness, both in the same thing with us. Doesn't God save us before even knowing how we will turn out.

I mean, that's his grace. Why would he choose me.

Why would he adopt me. Why would he bring me into his family. Not knowing that I will fail him or prove him right.

And God knows all things. But still Paul says I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me that he counted me trustworthy, putting him putting me into the ministry of Paul is giving God all the credit all the credit. When we take credit away from God, what were doing is forcing God. I know what you've done for me.

But you see, I also have something to offer. You pick me because I was despicable, not true. He picked you out of his sovereign grace is like a toddler ready helping a toddler walking the parents get behind them and that they hold their hands in the help the wall at everybody on the other side is curing as it has been keep coming but you know and I know if the parent were to let go of those hands, they will fall using the same way you and I walk the Christian life. You are saved is because God is walking behind you he's strengthening you and he is proving himself. When we take that credit when we say look all those dues and I was dad and I went to the right charger. I've been to the right Bible study or I had the right mentors you see what you're doing at that moment is he taking credit away from Christ. Give it back to him and if your mentors are the right mentors guess what they will tell you don't give it to me. Give it to Christ, that God get all the glory. Do you understand how weak you and I are you see how much you need Christ to enable you to view giving tanks every single day. Do you think you for your salvation, acknowledging your weakness before him something else. Listen to verse 13, Paul says, although I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man but I obtained mercy.

Always remember your fallenness never forget where you came from. Never forget, but God found don't think that you are where you are because of some right decisions or override strategy you are where you are by the grace of God. Remember where you came from because I was a blasphemer in what he was doing he was denying that Jesus Christ was God's son. He was a persecutor he was going from place to place capturing men and women who were Christians who were of the way and killing them. He was an insolent man in what insolent really means. He was a bully that I don't know about you but I hate bullies because bullies pretend to be stronger than you, but the really not in the try to intimidate you. Hoping that you will never catch on. Paul is slow, true 20s I was a bully.

When Jesus found me how, but I obtained mercy for something else. Paul says here. Listen to verse 13 again because I didn't ignorantly in unbelief that this is very important to understand mercy came to Paul. But Paul could have resisted that mercy the other two ways that you can unbelief one is the ignorant unbelief and the second is the deliberate unbelief.

What is ignorant unbelief. We just don't know if you have never heard the gospel really are sitting here this morning you been to church all your life. For the first time you hearing that you cannot save yourself that you need Christ to open your eyes to come and rescue you and you have been ignorant all this time and you go while I do know that I need Jesus to come into my life.

I need him to save me. That's unbelief and ignorance. What is deliberate.

You know the truth but you're not in receiving inner Jesus had people like that in his ministry.

They constantly attacked him.

The constantly buck Tim Mr. John chapter 8 verse 22 Jesus talked that he said that the Jews said to him, will he kill himself because he says where I go you cannot come.

He was telling them I would die for your sins and Jesus said to them you are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

Therefore I said to you. Listen to this, you will die in your sales for you if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins means there is no hope for you. You have rejected me. You are going to die in your sins, you have deliberately rejected my grace. If this morning your heart is saying I'm listening to him but I'm not going to go all the way folks don't listen to me listen to the word let the Bible of the word of God guide you, this book says you need to be saved and you need to be safe. Forget about me because if you reject this word rejecting the word of Christ. You will die in your sins something else. Jesus says to them. Therefore I said to you who end and then the setting. Who are you same question people.

Paul asked who are you, Lord.

And Jesus said to them, just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you and he who sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I heard from him. Listen, they did not understand that he spoke to them of the father.

If your heart is close to the truth. You will not understand the gospel. If you have made up your mind that Asha is a good good preacher like I clear of your business a cool place but but I have I have this boundary that I'm not going to cross. I want to become a Baptist or some of the way you're saying it. I want to go and tell you if you deliberately rejecting the mercy of God coming to you because of some preconceived notion you will die in your sins, you will never understand the gospel ill of the sin is the unpardonable sin people as a suicide, or is it cursing God, the unpardonable sin is rejecting the Holy Spirit saying to the Holy Spirit. No I think is good and all but I am not gonna submit to that, folks.

It was in this book, you have a choice. What Paul is saying is I did all this in ignorance.

But God showed me his mercy is a man who is constantly rejecting the gospel. I've known him for almost 18 years and I visited him in the earlier sites to visit them a lot.

I guess we would tell me every time I came I knew was a matter of time before he brought it up. You say preacher used to go to church.

I was I was in there all the time and I was serving everything but you know what happened that preacher. He ran off with so-and-so's wife. As I'm am so sorry that I should've happened. That's a shameful, as horrible and that tells you that the devil is working a left came back a few months later, and I began to share the gospel with him just in a very casual way just telling him you know Christ needs to be first in your life and the only way you can receive them is by grace through faith, did I ever tell you about that preacher ran off. How's life, yet he did the last time I came back a few months later the next year and the next year.

It was always the same thing.

You know what he was doing he was trying to shut me up by bringing up that preacher unless that man receives Christ, he will die and go to hell. This is what Paul says in the grace of our Lord.

I love this was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. The several things he says oh here's number one is grace than he talks about faith. Then he talks about love, grace and same thing God's unmerited favor faith. When you come to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Listen if you just say God I need you to save me at that moment he even gives you the fate you see how weak and incapable. We are even gives you the faith to say yes. I trust in Jesus and what else does he do the covers, you would love any walking this morning. God has been showing you love people are coming shaking your hands talking to you being nice to you either doing that because God is motivating them and sending them to you to soften your heart, grace, faith, club, listen to this. It was exceedingly abundant. The word is who purposely or not. So which is which means hyper God's love is hyper. You understand that love looked to the cross, that is God's hyper grace, faith and love that Jesus died and suffered what you are supposed to suffer for the rest of eternity.

Question this morning.

Do you remember what God found you.

Are you still lost. Is it ignorant but unbelief or is it deliberate unbelief. I know someone else.

Every time there's another question is start out with with but how did Cain find his wife to how did Noah get all the animals on the ark and then it was something else and something else is something else and I tell the person to listen, the more questions that even I can answer.

Are you going to make sure you have all the answers before you get saved. While you know is hard for me to believe it's hard for me to trust you will die in your sins because you're being deliberate. Listen again to what Jesus said to the Pharisees. John 939 and Jesus said for judgment. I have come into this world that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind. Ms. if you even see the grace of God, and he rejected. Guess what could happen if blindness is gonna come upon you, you will have more questions and more questions and more doubts and more doubts than some of the Pharisees were with him heard these words and said to him, already blind, also. And Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin, but now you say we see therefore your sin remains because you think you know sin remains this morning.

If you are saved go back to how Jesus found. How did he find me out of you heard my testimony before I was four years old I had robbed the bank. I haven't killed anybody just four years old sitting mop by my moms bed and she share the gospel with me. The gospel is very simple. You know, if the Jesus comes today that is going to heaven moms going to heaven and brothers going to heaven.

But you know are you going to heaven. How do you go to heaven you have to receive Jesus as your Savior as you Lord in a four-year-olds mind out and understand all the gospel that I do today but I said yes I want to go to heaven. I want Jesus to save and he was 14 years of age.

When I finally understood all that it meant and I walked forward in the side of all the things that was my testimony so you don't have to be a bad, bad person like Paul, but you have to receive Christ as your Savior. Number three. How can you be thankful acknowledge a weakness. Remember, your fallenness and warship with gratefulness listen to verse 15, Paul says this famous line.

He said this is a faithful saying he he is he is launching into praise and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief letting the music I give the background for that statement. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in the last two years of his life. Paul is facing death. More than likely death by beheading.

He has written most of the letters. Romans grinned his most of these have already been written even think Paul would be so full of himself and yet he is so simple he says Christ Jesus came in the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. He is going back to the basics.

He is grateful he is worshiping God. What else does he say this in verse 16.

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ might show all long-suffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for eternal life partners are pattern it up sometimes people say Paul.

Paul could say that but I can.

We should be saying the same thing.

Paul is our example you say with Paul. I'm the chief of sinners. You know the marriage relationship of the husband and wife are fussing and fighting for but were busy trying to make the other person look bad were busy trying to nail them to the wall when we should be saying I'm a bigger center than you, honey.

Paul is our pattern within the charge body were busy criticizing each other for things that it arrived or not right and wrong are not right enough when we should be saying I'm a bigger center.

How do you see yourself. If Paul is our pattern do you say with Paul. I am the chief I am the worst one that's true humility, but now listen to Paul.

He is about to launch into another praise time. He says now to the King into our internal means. The king of age is a mortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen so much I can say about that verse. Do you know the gospel this morning. If you don't know the gospel and explain to the gospel is very simple.

The gospel has a declaration and that it has a decision. What is the declaration of the gospel. The declaration is this Jesus brought God's kingdom into this world. He is Christ, he is God's anointed king who came and he died on the cross for your sins, according to the Scriptures as prophesied in the Scriptures.

Jesus is God's son, the king of the world came and died for you.

He was buried according to Scriptures, but he rose again on the third day and was seen by many folks. That's the declaration of the gospel God son came die buried rose again, as prophesied, and there was evidence then comes a decision was a decision you have to repent. What is repentance repentance. We used to say you going one way you turn around and you go the other way.

You know what real repentance this is not just going one way and then turning around. Repentance is a change of mind, you have to change your mind about sin you have to change your mind about holiness you have to change your mind about what God has done for you through Christ Jesus as I can go back and forth all day and keep going back to sin. But when I change my mind.

I realize how horrible sin is and how holy God is. I can go back there again. Repentance is a change of mind about sin self and Savior then comes belief you have to believe you have to trust that Jesus is God son who has paid the penalty of your sins. And he can remove the guilt of sin and give you total life you have to believe you, so I haven't seen it. Where is it 2000 years ago. He came and did that by faith. You have to receive it by faith is all his heart.

Folks we exercise faith every day when you came to the traffic light you have faith right you have faith of those people to stop what happens when the don't stop but you know, repent, believe for the third thing follow him is not just enough to say I change my mind. I trust Jesus. But now, from this day on, he is your king you have to obey him and follow him.

No matter the cause. That's what Paul said what he said again he said now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible God, who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever. Paul called Jesus his king in a sad some of us are going to enter Thanksgiving season without thanking God for the main thing which is salvation really thank God for the food because thank God for the family, but I got for a job in health pose the greatest thing is salvation, because this life is finite short period of time. What 80 years, 90 years hundred years, but there is a life coming that never ends. Jesus came to give us access to that life is only by repentance, belief, and obedience that you can receive.

Thank you so much for joining us for this message. As believers should constantly amaze us that God chose to save us, even while we were still sinners, God sent his son to die the death we deserve to die so that we can have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life, and it's this knowledge that should make us go and share with others to help you think of for your salvation more information, visit us online and I believe easy.org for this sermon. Check out hazards on, not shot.com